Elite Milano Bloghttps://www.elitemilanoblog.com
AC are set to challenge in Europe once more...Sun, 24 Sep 2017 10:03:51 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.3BONUCCI: AC MILAN STILL BEHIND JUVE AND NAPOLIhttps://www.elitemilanoblog.com/bonucci-ac-milan-still-behind-juve-and-napoli/
Sun, 24 Sep 2017 10:03:51 +0000http://www.elitemilanoblog.com/?p=221Continue reading BONUCCI: AC MILAN STILL BEHIND JUVE AND NAPOLI]]>Italian national team central defender Leonardo Bonucci has praised AC Milan for their “journey of growth” but still feels they are behind Juventus and Napoli.

Milan signed ten players this summer as the new owners are keen on helping the club back to their former place in the Serie A and on the continent. However, the pace of delivery is still slow.

Milan needed Suso to score a free kick 20 minutes from regular time for them to scrap a 2-1 result against Cagliari. It was not a show of brilliance yet, though they earnedtheir second successive victory in the league.

The coach Vincenzo Montella is working at integrating the new signings and develop a strong winning team. Bonucci, who is the skipper of the side, is pleased with the progress so far but admits that they are “only at the start.” He claimed Juventus and Napoli are “a little ahead” of them so they would need to improve and become more of a team.

The team are hoping to finish in the top echelon and possible return to the Champions League at the end of the season. They would have to battle Juve, Napoli, AS Roma, Inter and other top Italian sides though. They could get a straight ticket if they win the Europa League that they are in competition for. They were recently drawn in a group alongside Rijeka, Austria Wien and AEK.

The Chinese owners would need to be patient to get the fruits of their labour but Coach Montella knows decent achievements would feed the will to wait.

]]>ALLEGRI AND THE BANE OF COMPULSIVE LOVE FOR DEFENCEhttps://www.elitemilanoblog.com/allegri-and-the-bane-of-compulsive-love-for-defence/
Fri, 14 Jul 2017 07:08:46 +0000http://www.elitemilanoblog.com/?p=219Continue reading ALLEGRI AND THE BANE OF COMPULSIVE LOVE FOR DEFENCE]]>When Massimiliano Allegri parted ways with AC Milan 3 years ago, his prospect of landing another top job seemed very low.

He left theRossoneri in crisis and before then had already made the poor decision of telling Silvio Berlusconi, then club chief, of how Andrea Pirlo had become obsolete and surplus to requirements.

As fate will have it, Juventus was at that time looking for a replacement for outgoing Antonio Conte after he confirmed he would be taking the job of being in charge of the Italian national side. Beyond the ugly decline of Milan overseen by Allegri, the Turin giants were able to spot and willing to harness his lucrative tactical skills.

Allegri’s subsequent success with the Old Lady, leading them to 3consecutive league titles and 2 Champions League finals,exceeded expectations. He hybridized the squad and actually made them better than Conte’s, an unthinkable feat given what the current ‘Chelsea coach achieved with the club.

A huge part of Allegri’s success was adding his defensive spice to the offensive stew Juve already had boiling in them and that kind of made the team more cohesive and balanced. It is the reason despite being ripped off of stars – Arturo Vidal, Andrea Pirlo and Paul Pogba – they still managed to wrap their dominance around the Scudetto and advanced to the Champions League final this season.

However, Saturday’s performance that saw them crack under the Galaticos was largely caused by their overly preference to sit back. Unfortunately for them, Zidane and his boys figured it out after the balanced first half, reemerged from the dug and blew them out of the water in the second 45-minutes.

Allegri’s deep defensive tactics choked his team to the rims of defeat and should he hope to lift the UCL before his time at Juve runs out, that might be something to think about.

]]>MILAN FRUSTRATED BY DONNARUMMA’S AGENThttps://www.elitemilanoblog.com/milan-frustrated-by-donnarummas-agent/
Mon, 08 May 2017 13:32:22 +0000http://www.elitemilanoblog.com/?p=217Continue reading MILAN FRUSTRATED BY DONNARUMMA’S AGENT]]>Serie A giant AC Milan are keen on keeping highly sought after goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma but the club says they are frustrated with the player’s agent Mino Raiola.

The new sporting director of the club Massimiliano Mirabelli made the revelations.

Donnarumma has a year left on his current deal with the San Siro but top sides are open to signing him. The 18-year old shot stopper has been decent in his role for the club, winning the hearts of top clubs. With the recent completion of the Chinese takeover of Milan, Mirabelli was part of the changes at the club.

The director wants to keep the club’s best players of which Donnarumma is one. He remains optimistic of convincing the player to stay at the club as they set rebuilding plans in motion.

“All we needed to do was look Donnarumma in the eyes to see if he wants to stay at Milan, and we could see that he wants to. But now we have also got to talk with his agent. We wanted to talk with him to understand how much the lad is attached to these colours.

“Milan are still an attractive club, considering that together with Real Madrid, we are the club with the most titles in world football. Now, after we have seen what his intentions are, we will speak with his agent, but that is the most difficult part,” Mirabelli said.

Raiola does seem not to share as much optimism about the youngster remaining at Milan Funzone. He said he wants to see how ambitious the new owners are, their plans for the future and all that before his client could commit to a long term deal.

Milan are struggling to make continental tournaments for a while now, so it is wise for players to see the investments and plans on the table before committing their futures. Mirabelli is trying to convince them all of the plans in motion but with their position on the table, they would likely not play in Europe next season.

]]>PIRLO – I COULD HAVE PLAYED AT BARCELONAhttps://www.elitemilanoblog.com/pirlo-i-could-have-played-at-barcelona/
Tue, 28 Mar 2017 12:22:34 +0000http://www.elitemilanoblog.com/?p=215Continue reading PIRLO – I COULD HAVE PLAYED AT BARCELONA]]>Italian football legend Andrea Pirlo has revealed that he could have lined up for the best team in the world in Barcelona if he wanted to.

The AC Milan legend said he rejected a potential move to join Pep Guardiola’s ‘perfect’ team.

Pirlo started his pro career through a host of Italian football clubs like Brescia, Inter Milan, and Reggina before he developed into a superstar at Milan following his big-money move. He was with the Rossoneri for a decade before he decided to leave. He moved to Serie A giant Juventus as he left in the pecking order at the San Siro.

Pirlo said that before his move to play for the Bianconeri, he could have moved to Nou Camp.

“When I was at Milan, we played a friendly game at the Camp Nou and after the game, Pep Guardiola called me into his office inside the stadium. He asked me if I would like to play under him at Barcelona. It was very nice for me, to have been asked to his office and told that. At that time, Milan would never have allowed me to leave though,” Pirlo said recently in an interview with L’Equipe.

The player also talked about the famous night in Istanbul when Liverpool upturned a three-goal deficit to win the Champions League.

“That Champions League final against Liverpool remains the worst experience of my career. I cried on the field, then returned to the dressing room and it was even worse. There was an atmosphere so surreal in there that I couldn’t even cry. Losing a Champions League final after being 3-0 up at half-time is really bad. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone,” he said.

Pirlo left Juve in 2015 after their Champions League final loss to Barcelona. He moved to the Major League Soccer where he features for New York City FC.

]]>AGENT: CARLOS BACCA HAPPY AT AC MILANhttps://www.elitemilanoblog.com/agent-carlos-bacca-happy-at-ac-milan/
Wed, 11 Jan 2017 04:55:11 +0000http://www.elitemilanoblog.com/?p=213Continue reading AGENT: CARLOS BACCA HAPPY AT AC MILAN]]>Sergio Barilla, the agent of AC Milan striker Carlos Bacca has denied the reports which suggest the 30 years old Colombian international is on his way to leaving the club.

The agent reiterated that his client is fully committed and happy in AC Milan and does not intend to leave the San Siro anytime soon.

Bacca, who joined AC Millan from Sevilla for a transfer fee of €30 million, was a subject of transfer speculations all summer with top clubs in Europe like Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain and West Ham all gunning for the signature of the prolific AC Milan attacker.

At the beginning of the season, the 30-year-old striker revealed he almost completed a move to Paris Saint-Germain, with West Ham united manager claiming Bacca favored a move to Arsenal.

Despite the fact that no move pulled through, the Colombian international’s agent insisted that his client at the moment is “very happy at Milan.” Barilla revealed to Milan News that Bacca is very happy at Milan and is 100 percent focused on achieving something special with the club.With his incredible contribution to the team’s success so far both Ac Milan coach and the club supporters are currently happy with Bacca,

Bacca who had an impressive first season at San Siro scoring an incredible twenty goals, has so far scored six goals from 13 league appearance this campaign. If he is to maintain his goal-scoring prowess of last season, he will surpass the record of 20 league goals he registered in his first season at the club.

At the moment, the Colombian international looks fully committed to staying at the San Siro and achieving big things with the Italian based club, and chances of him leaving the club looks slim if we are to go by the comments of his agent Sergio Barrila.

]]>Fabregas not joining AC Milanhttps://www.elitemilanoblog.com/fabregas-not-joining-ac-milan/
Tue, 15 Nov 2016 08:22:15 +0000http://www.elitemilanoblog.com/?p=181Continue reading Fabregas not joining AC Milan]]>After reports that the Spanish midfielder might be making a switch to AC Milan during the January transfer window, it is now believed that the Italian club is not interesting in going forward with the deal.

Cesc Fabregas who has lost his place in Chelsea’s first team apparently wants to remain to London in order to fight for his place.

There have been media reports last week that AC Milan’s representatives have traveled to London in order to join Chelsea’s representative. It was believed that the Italian club was trying to convince their London counterpart to allow Fabregas to come on loan.

But it is now believed that the Italian club is no more interested to sign the player and that they are considering other options. There are rumors that the Italian club considers Fabregas salary as a major stumbling block for the deal and that they are now considering cheaper options to boost their squad.

AC Milan has made a good start to their Serie A season this year, and their coach Vincenzo Montella is putting his trust in a group of young players. They were looking to add more experienced in the side and considered Fabregas as an ideal candidate to help boost the team in the center of the park.

]]>AC Milan needs to get fans backhttps://www.elitemilanoblog.com/ac-milan-needs-to-get-fans-back/
Fri, 23 Sep 2016 07:05:15 +0000http://www.elitemilanoblog.com/?p=129Continue reading AC Milan needs to get fans back]]>AC Milan coach Vincenzo Montello has stated that AC Milan should win their fans back. He said that the club is nothing without its supporters, and it is up to the players to win them back to the team.

He was speaking after the match that saw AC Milan beat Torino 3-2. Although AC Milan managed to win the game, it was by no means an easy game and they could have ended up the match with a defeat. It is only because of some poor defending by Torino that the team managed to score 3 goals.

Vincenzo Montella believes that the only way for AC Milan to get back to the top of the Serie A will be to get the fans back behind the team. He said that this is not a new problem and that it is up to the players to change that. He said that fans are not angry with the team or with the coach, but they are just disappointed with the way the club has been playing for a few seasons now.

The coach believes that it is possible to get the fans back, and the players will need to keep producing good results. He said that he was happy with the way the team played for their first match, and he hopes that they will be able to replicate such a performance on a regular basis. He said that the team played well for 70 minutes and managed to control the game and create occasions. However, there were 20-minutes periods where they lost focus and allowed the opposition time on the ball. He said that he would be working on this aspect in training so as to allow the team to focus during the whole match.

]]>Vincenzo Montella had a desire to wear AC Milan shirthttps://www.elitemilanoblog.com/vincenzo-montella-had-a-desire-to-wear-ac-milan-shirt/
Fri, 22 Jul 2016 06:58:36 +0000http://www.elitemilanoblog.com/?p=86Continue reading Vincenzo Montella had a desire to wear AC Milan shirt]]>Vincenzo Montella had a desire to wear AC Milan shirt when he was playing the game, but, he could not have that desire turning into reality as the Rossoneri did not come to him seeking his services at any point.

However, now that it has been quite a long time since he hung his boots, he is going to be in Milan shirt, not playing, but, coaching the team and in his first interview he joked that even though his hairs are starting to change their colouring and become slightly greyish, he can still be useful to the Italian giants. Montella says he got himself into coaching post retirement because he was pretty curious about how the coaches work and what sort of pressure comes with the job. According to Montella, the coaches who are his role models have worked at AC Milan and they have set great benchmarks and he would also want to touch that level and get Milan dominating at the country level and at the continent level. There was never a more suitable time than this for Montella to take over at Milan as the ownership of the club is close to changing and it is likely to get him loaded with cash to go shopping in the market.

One of the important officials of the company which is supposed to take Milan under its acquisition even met Montella last evening, but, sources say it was more of an introductory interaction and the transfer topics were not on the agenda. Despite the sale of the club, the chairman’s position is understood to be retained by Berlusconi. However, it would be nothing more than an honorary position and would not have too much of power vested in it.

]]>Zlatan Ibrahimovic Keen To Return To Milanhttps://www.elitemilanoblog.com/zlatan-ibrahimovic-keen-to-return-to-milan/
Fri, 20 May 2016 09:52:01 +0000http://www.elitemilanoblog.com/?p=84Continue reading Zlatan Ibrahimovic Keen To Return To Milan]]>AC Milan is all geared up with preparations for the Series A season on the final weekend, although it’s been a busier week with progress that is being made to find new ownership.

There has been a Chinese consortium granted specially for sale and there will be negotiations which will take place over the coming weeks for an agreement before 15th of June. It is indeed promising and also had opened the door for Milan as it has become a good proposition as far as the target for summer transfers is concerned. The rise in investment as well as financial power in the market can let the Rossoneri to look for high profile names that include the former player Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the Swedish footballer recently expressed his desire to join back San Siro. He said that he had a good relationship with AC Milan and has a genuine concern for them as the club has been the biggest one that he has played for. He said that he was reluctant to leave Milan and it was due to other people that he had to take the extreme step. He is very keen to return and has said the news will soon be revealed.

Ibrahimovic has scored many goals close to 42 in his 61 appearances for Milan club and also had helped them to Scudetto in the year 2011. The player has been doing careful planning as he needs the right players at Milan to help him make things work for him. He requires energetic and young players who would assist him in pulling the strings and making an impact like he did in this season.

He has always been successful and if he returns to Milan, Serie A will certainly give him the chance to continue to make it to top. It will be a great idea to bring Ibrahimovic back to Milan as it will be the right move for them.

]]>Former AC Milan player Cesare Maldini has died at the age of 84https://www.elitemilanoblog.com/former-ac-milan-player-cesare-maldini-has-died-at-the-age-of-84/
Thu, 28 Apr 2016 14:14:31 +0000http://www.elitemilanoblog.com/?p=81Continue reading Former AC Milan player Cesare Maldini has died at the age of 84]]>Former AC Milan player Cesare Maldini has died at the age of 84. The football world, in general, has paid tribute to one of football greats on Tuesday morning. There were many former team-mates as well as club representatives that were present at the ceremony. Cesare Maldini has made more than 400 appearances for AC Milan and scored three goals during the period 1954 to 1963 and has won 4 League titles during that time.

He also won the European Cup in 1963. He was considered as being one of the best defenders of his generation. He also had a managerial career after his retirement as a player where he managed several clubs such as AC Milan, Foggia, Ternana, and Parma. His best accomplishment as a manager will be to win a Copa Italia and Cup Winners Cup double with AC Milan. He will also help Parma get their promotion to the Serie B.

On the international level, Cesare Maldini will manage the Italy senior team during the period 1996-1998. He will help the team qualify for the 1998 World Cup in France. Despite having a host of talented players at his disposal, he will only make it to the quarter-finals where Italy will be eliminated by the host and future winners France. The former AC Milan defender will be criticized in Italy for his defensive tactics that led to the elimination.

He will also participate in the 2002 World Cup as a head coach for Paraguay with his team making it to the Round of 16. However, Paraguay will be beaten by Germany with a late goal. During the latter stage of his career, Cesare Maldini works as a scout for AC Milan and also as a pundit for several radios.